


you make my heart beat faster (or maybe that's just the redbull and coffee)

by inkk



Category: Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkwardness, Dorms, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Pizza, Rugby, group projects, its just fluff, lars probably has crabs (sorry lars), rob is a jock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27620483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkk/pseuds/inkk
Summary: In which two strangers, one last-minute assignment, and four cans of RedBull are the makings of a meet-cute.
Relationships: Kirk Hammett/Robert Trujillo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 31





	you make my heart beat faster (or maybe that's just the redbull and coffee)

**Author's Note:**

> so uh... [young](https://shotgunmessiahs.tumblr.com/post/190330928623) [rob](https://knzay-blog-blog.tumblr.com/post/756920309), [amirite?](https://fuckyeahroberttrujillo-blog-blog.tumblr.com/post/970818483)  
> \--  
> disclaimer that this one is another oldie from the drafts !! i wrote most of this ~ a year ago, but then it got abandoned cuz i was really dissatisfied with it ... unsure if i should be posting it tbh, but the world needs more rob/kirk and that's that on that. if i orphan it later, that's my business 😳  
> also, massive thanks to deadinderry for writing [Late Nights and Pizza](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21147317) (the OG kirk/rob college au), and to @[the-mighty-het-speaks](https://the-mighty-het-speaks.tumblr.com) for patiently answering my dumb questions about the American postsecondary system 😔🇨🇦  
> happy birthday miss hammett !!! 💘

+

“Hi,” Kirk starts the phone call, “Is this, uh, Robert?”

He hates the way his palm is already sweating against the plastic case, fingers clamped tight around it.

“Oh, hey, dude!” comes the reply. “You must be Kirk, right? I was wondering when I was gonna hear back from you.”

“Yeah,” Kirk says weakly, “Uh, that’s me. Listen, uh, Robert—”

“Call me Rob, dude,” his partner interjects. “How’s it going with the lab?”

Kirk winces preemptively, worrying his lower lip. “Yeah,” he says, “So, um. About that. I am so, _so_ sorry, but I haven't finished my part yet. I know we talked on the message board last week and said we’d each do our questions and then put them together tonight, but I… I-I don't have the work done.”

He sucks in a breath, nervously swiveling his desk chair from side to side. “Actually, I haven’t even started yet. Which is worse. And, uh— sucks. Really bad. So I’m calling to tell you that, in case you want to, like, submit an issue form with the prof and get a better grade.”

An excruciating pause stretches between them. There’s chatter on the other end, like a group of people talking.

“Oh, man,” Rob finally says, “Seriously?”

Kirk’s heart drops. He drags a hand over his face, brow scrunching up in discomfort. “I-I know, I’m sorry,” he says, pained. “I’m a shitty group partner. I meant to do it on Wednesday, but I had two midterms and an essay due on Friday and then—”

“Yo, woah,” Rob cuts him off, “It’s cool, man. I get it. No worries. Shit, I was kinda hoping you'd say that so I didn't feel like so much of a slacker, ‘cause I, uh… I haven't done any of it, either.”

Kirk blinks. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Rob says, his tone turning sheepish. “I swear I really am gonna do it, though. I won't flake on you, man. I’ll crush a few RedBulls and pull an all-nighter if I have to. ‘Cause I mean, it’s like... as long as we get it done by tomorrow, right?”

“Uh,” Kirk says dumbly, gaze flicking over to the remains of his instant coffee stash. “Yeah, I mean... sure. Right. I’ll— I’ll probably do the same on my end, so. Uh. Yeah. I guess I’ll see you in the Google Doc, then.”

“Sure, man, of course,” Rob says. There's a clang on his end, and a bit of rustling. Kirk is about to say goodbye when Rob clears his throat and says, “Unless, uh. Any chance you’d wanna do it together?”

Kirk frowns at his Nescafé packets. “Together?”

“Yeah, like… I dunno, we could meet up and work in the same vicinity. If you want. Might make it a little easier.”

“Oh,” Kirk repeats. He pauses for a second. “Uh, well. Okay. If— If you want to. I don't know which of the libraries are open tonight, but…”

“No prob,” Rob says, “We can use my room, if you're okay with that. I’m just changing out for rugby practice right now, but I should be done just before eight. Might be a little sweaty and gross, but—”

“I don't mind,” Kirk says quickly. Too quickly.

Rob laughs. “Okay, cool. I’m in the East Hall. One of my buddies is working the check-in desk tonight, so I’ll tell him to let you up in case I’m a little late coming back. My room number is 603, you think you can remember that?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kirk mumbles, already fishing around for something to write it down with. “O-Okay. Yeah. Okay. Cool.”

“Dope, dude. Looking forward to it.”

Kirk’s hand closes around his lucky pen. “Have a good practice,” he says, then hangs up. He scribbles the number down, then stares at his phone for a moment after the screen goes dark.

Kirk’s never even properly met Rob before , let alone held a conversation with the guy. All he really knows about Rob from seeing him around campus is that he has long hair, plays on the rugby team, and is, well... Kinda hot.

Maybe. In a jock sort of way.

Kirk doesn't really trust him to be a good group partner, but then again, Kirk never trusts anyone randomly assigned to work with him — and this late in the game, he’s willing to settle for any mark above zero.

He decides he’ll just have to make the best of it.

Plus, Rob seems like a decent enough guy. Even if he is obsessed with wearing shorts that go down to his ankles.

+

In the end, Rob is only ten minutes late. Kirk waits for him outside the door marked 603, sitting on the carpet floor and idly flipping through his copy of _Mrs. Dalloway_ without really absorbing any of it. He’s still only halfway through when a door opens somewhere down the hall.

Kirk wipes his clammy palms on his jeans. He’s just about to stand up when Rob rounds the corner and greets him with one hand raised in an amicable half-wave. “Hey!”

Kirk scrambles to his feet, nearly dropping the book in the process. “Um, hi,” he manages.

“Glad you made it, man,” Rob says, flashing a charming smile. His dark hair is pulled back into two long french braids and he’s still in his uniform, a team hoodie thrown on overtop. He stops at the door to fish his keys out of his pocket. “Sorry I’m late,” he apologizes as he unlocks the door. “Also, my room might be sort of a mess right now. I’ve been kinda busy with midterms lately, so...”

Kirk grabs his backpack up off the floor and steps inside after Rob, curiously peering around. Other than a few t-shirts and some books lying around, Rob actually seems to keep things pretty tidy; compared to Kirk’s half of his own room, at least, where every spare surface is covered in posters, figurines, comics, dirty clothes and the unwashed mugs.

“Nice place,” Kirk remarks as Rob toes off his ratty Vans by the door. “Uh, so. I-I brought my laptop and notes and stuff, but I wasn't sure where you wanted to start?”

“Right, yeah,” Rob says. “Since we're both here, I was thinking maybe we could divide and conquer, y’know? Like, if one of us starts making the graphs, the other can work on the writeups. Or something. If you want.”

“Sounds good,” Kirk agrees. He bites his lip, resisting the urge to rock on his toes. “Uh, so where should I…?”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, you can take the desk,” Rob says. “Here, I’ll just—”

He starts haphazardly shoving things aside to clear a space, Kirk awkwardly holding onto his backpack. “Uh, and if I could just get your Wi-Fi too, y’know, that’d be great.”

“Yeah dude, for sure,” Rob says as he gathers up a stack of notebooks and papers, tossing them onto the bed. “The network is the building name, and you can sign in with my student ID, it's on that sticky note on the wall there.”

While Kirk is sliding his laptop out of his bag and waiting for it to turn on, Rob shrugs out of his hoodie and peels off his tall socks. “Hey, man, d’you mind if I hop through the shower while you're getting set up?” he asks.

Kirk looks up from the spinning wheel on the screen of his computer. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure. Go for it.”

“Thanks man, I’ll be quick. Promise.”

He grabs clothes from the closet and disappears into the little bathroom. Kirk logs into the Wi-Fi and pulls up the assignment; a minute or two later, the water runs.

Kirk spends a minute scrolling through the questions and rubric, and then another minute examining his surroundings. He meant what he said earlier — Rob’s digs are actually pretty nice. Not too much bigger than his own room, but no roommate to share it with, and it has its own bathroom and a nice big window that doesn't face directly into another dorm. If he squints, Kirk thinks he can even make out a thin slice of the river in the distance.

There’s a team banner above the bed and a few photos scattered the corkboard opposite. Family, presumably, plus a couple team pictures and one that looks to be from high school graduation. His shelf houses a few CDs — Rancid, Ozzy Osbourne and Circle Jerks catch Kirk’s eye — as well as a small collection of empty bottles. 

Hm.

Kirk brushes his curiosity aside and turns his gaze back to his computer, continuing to skim the prof’s chapter notes. There’s always something vaguely uncomfortable about being left alone in someone else’s room, and he’s thankful when Rob emerges from the bathroom shortly after, dressed in a tank top and a loose pair of sweats with his hair wrapped up in a towel on top of his head. He rifles in his closet for another moment and emerges with four cans of RedBull.

“Alright,” Rob announces, handing two to Kirk with a comically serious expression, “Let’s do this.”

Kirk shoots him a smile as he grabs his notebook and laptop, flopping down on the bed and powering it on. “If we’re working together, I think this should only take, like, three or four hours,” Kirk offers optimistically. “I’m pretty fast at typing.”

“Fast fingers,” Rob nods in approval, plunking in his password, “I like that in a man. D’you wanna do the write ups while I get started on the graphs?”

“I… Sure,” Kirk blinks. “Yeah, uh, if you want. I think question four needs, like, five separate plots with each of the different data sets, so y’know. Pretty gnarly. Be my guest.”

“Sick,” Rob confirms with a nod.

He promptly starts clicking away, and Kirk takes this as his cue to get to work. He turns back to his laptop to rifle in his bag for a second, pulling out his glasses and shoving them onto his face with a tiny sigh. The assignment stares back up at him.

_1\. A new drug for hypertension was given to three groups of male patients with regular weight, overweight, and obese. Each group consisted of thirteen subjects. The diastolic blood pressure reductions for the three groups are given in the table below…_

+

“Shit,” Rob groans, flipping his laptop shut. “I’m hungry as fuck, dude. Is it chill if we take a break and order pizza or something?”

The time is just before midnight. They've been working for around three hours now, with most of the labour-intensive questions behind them.

Kirk finishes his sentence and closes his own laptop with an air of finality. “Sure, I think we’ve earned it.”

“Pass me my phone,” Rob yawns, “I’ll order.”

Kirk grabs it off the corner of the desk and turns around to pass it to Rob, inadvertently catching him mid-stretch — sprawled out flat with his feet dangling off the edge of the bed, armpit hair on display, tank top riding up on his stomach like every single cliché teenage sexual discovery moment Kirk has ever had.

Kirk tosses the phone lightly onto the mattress, ignoring the way the blood rushes to his cheeks. Rob mumbles his thanks. He discarded the towel ages ago, his hair now mostly dry and falling over his shoulders in loose waves.

“What d’you want?” Rob asks, swiping it open. “We get the 40% off student discount, so we can even afford the extra breadstick dipping sauces,” he jokes with a waggle of his dark eyebrows.

Kirk laughs and tucks one knee up to his chest. “I don't care,” he says. “I'm vegetarian, but I can always just pick the meat off, y’know.”

“You like four-cheese?”

Kirk just shrugs. “Sure, yeah. Whatever you want.”

Rob doesn't push further than that. He takes a minute to finish placing their order, then promptly tosses his phone onto the floor. “Should be here in twenty minutes,” he announces, rubbing his eyes with a load groan. “Holy shit, dude, it feels like I have Q-Q plots imprinted on my retinas.”

Kirk laughs. “At least we’re almost done.”

Rob makes a vague noise of agreement. “Hey, so what’s your major, by the way?”

“Oh, uh, English,” Kirk says. “Second year. I mean… I-I’m still not a hundred percent sure I’ll stick with it, though, y’know.” The answer feels lame. He belatedly tacks on a, “You?”

"Psych. Second year, too.”

“Oh, that's... cool.”

Rob shrugs. “The brain is an interesting organ.”

There's a small pause between them. Kirk’s leg starts to bounce.

“So, you live in residence too?” Rob continues.

“Uh, yeah,” Kirk nods, “Over on the other side. South Hall, so. Not exactly as nice as here, y’know, but it’s not bad. And my roommate is kind of a— a party animal, which is actually kind of a good thing, cause he’s not around a lot. Unless he needs a bed, and then he kicks me out.”

“I know the type,” Rob agrees, amused. He considers Kirk for a second. “So, what d’you do for fun?”

“Well,” Kirk says, “I don't go out too much. I… I dunno, I watch a lot of movies. And I-I like to read, I guess. I collect comics and stuff. I’m, like, really into horror.” He mumbles the last part, feeling himself flush with embarrassment.

Way to go, Quirk. Fucking weirdo.

“Like, _The Exorcist_? That kinda shit?”

“Yeah! Yeah, and some of the older stuff, too. Y’know, like _The Mummy_ , _White Zombie_ , _Creature From The Black Lagoon_...” Kirk trails off, noting very little recognition on Rob's face. He drops his gaze and waves a hand. “Y’know. Whatever. It’s kinda stupid.”

Rob frowns. “Hey, man, it’s not stupid. It’s kinda weird, maybe, but it's cool. I don't judge.”

“Right.” Kirk shoots him an awkward smile, twisting his hands in his lap. “Well, my roommate hates it. He says my posters freak him out when he wakes up in the night.”

“Yeah, well, your roommate sounds like a dude who probably has crabs.”

Kirk snorts and cracks a grin. Lars really isn't all that bad, but Rob does have a point. The guy is kind of a slut.

Still.

Kirk thinks of James and Jason in the room next door — nice enough guys, with some serious interpersonal issues resulting in frequent shouting matches. Lars’ tally of lamps they’ve broken is up to four, now, last time Kirk checked. On a good week, Jason spends half of his nights sleeping on a couch in the lounge.

“I could have gotten worse,” Kirk decides. He clears his throat. “So do you, uh. Do you like having a room to yourself?”

“Won’t lie, it’s pretty sweet. I didn't mind having a roomie last year, but the private bathroom is the thing that matters.”

Kirk makes a face. “Yeah, I guess the communal showers are a bit of a drawback.” 

Unless you're Lars and you just walk around in your birthday suit all the time anyways. Stupid, unselfconscious Danish upbringing.

“I don't miss ‘em, that's for sure,” Rob laughs. “I already get naked around my teammates three or four times a week, and that's enough for me.”

Rob, naked. Now there's an idea.

Kirk’s knee bounces a little faster. “You're really good,” he says. “At— At rugby, I mean. I’ve seen you play once or twice.”

“Yeah?” Rob’s face seems to brighten. “That’s sweet, dude. The games are a lot of fun. We actually have a pretty decent team this year, too. The season’s been going well.”

“Sweet,” Kirk echoes, “That's, uh, yeah. That's great.”

“Gotta say, I didn't take you for a sports enthusiast.”

Kirk shrugs, grins. “You got me. I only show up for the short shorts.”

It's a stupid thing to say, but Rob laughs anyways, bright and happy. It's comfortable. They trade chitchat back and forth for a little while longer before Rob announces, “Pizza should be here soon, you wanna take a walk downstairs to get it?”

So they do. The elevator is slow and creaky, with one bar of fluorescent lights that flickers ominously and casts them in an ugly sallow tint. It feels almost claustrophobic to be in such a small space with Rob, but a distracted part of Kirk still finds himself considering the tiny shred of possibility that maybe, just _maybe_ , they’ll get stuck here together.

They don’t, of course. Ten seconds later, the elevator chime announces their safe arrival to the ground floor.

“Nice glasses, by the way,” Rob says as they're stepping out into the lobby.

It's only then that Kirk realizes he forgot to take them off. “Oh, jeez,” he mumbles, whipping the dorky, outdated coke-bottle frames off and stuffing them in his pocket, cheeks flaming anew.

Rob grins and knocks their shoulders together. “I think they're cute, dude.”

And Kirk, well. Kirk responds with a very good imitation of a beached whale. Thankfully, he’s saved from having to reply as Rob’s phone chirps, alerting them that their pizza has arrived.

Kirk watches him push through the building doors to go retrieve it. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and chews on his lip, scuffing one sneaker against the dirty carpet. Rob’s teasing is nice, if not bordering on flirtatious, but _damn_ , now is not a good time for Kirk to be getting the hots for some random rugby jock. Even if he is kind of a total babe. Kirk’s done the “pining after an unattainable Adonis” thing quite a few times already, and it never ends well. You can only cry into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s so many times before it starts to get old.

Rob comes back a minute later with a beaming grin and two cardboard boxes, casually dismissing Kirk’s offer to pay him back by e-transfer — “Nah, man, I’m hosting. I got this.”

They head back up to the room, where Rob flops unceremoniously back onto the bed and lifts the lid of the breadsticks, letting loose a groan of rapture as the scent of garlic hits the air.

“Fuck, that’s the good shit,” he enthuses. “C’mon, dude, come chow down.” He waves Kirk over, patting the bed, and Kirk obediently shuffles forward and takes a seat beside him.

Rob pushes the pizza box and a few napkins into his lap. “I don't have any plates right now, sorry. We can just use the box.”

“‘S cool,” Kirk agrees with a small smile, pulling back the lid and carefully extricating a slice. It’s only now that there's warm, greasy food in front of him that he realizes just how hungry he is.

“So,” Rob says, reaching for a slice, “You got a girlfriend?”

Kirk hesitates with the pizza in hand. “Nah, I’m like,” he examines it for a second, wondering how to put this delicately, “I’m gay.”

“Oh,” Rob says. At least he has the decency to look slightly flustered. “My bad, man. You, uh… Boyfriend, then?”

Kirk laughs and takes a bite. “No, I-I’m, uh. I’m not so good at that kind of thing,” he mumbles through a mouthful of cheese. “It’s cool though,” he adds, in an effort to sound like a self-sufficient bachelor instead of a sad loser. He chews and swallows, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged. “Do you have a, uh—” he narrowly stops himself from saying _girlfriend_ “—Someone?”

“Nah, not really.”

“Right,” Kirk nods, “S’cool.” He plays with the rough cardboard edge of the pizza box for a second. “So, um. This assignment is crazy, huh.”

“It’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be,” Rob shrugs, grabbing a napkin. “Actually, I think maybe _you're_ just a lot better than I expected you to be. Like… Y’know. I thought for sure I’d get stuck with someone real uptight, or whatever.”

Kirk flushes despite himself. “Yeah, me too. Um. I mean, not that I thought you’d be— Y’know, like, I’ve seen you around or whatever, but. You seem...” _Hot. Cute. Funny. Cool. Painfully, awesomely chill._ “...Nice.”

“I’ve seen you around too, y’know,” Rob says, his tone thoughtful. “In class, or whatever. I think we might have had psych together last year, actually.”

“We did,” Kirk says. “You sat three rows in front of me.”

_Whoops._

Before he can try to amend that statement to make it seem less fucking creepy, Rob laughs and says, “Aw man, for real? That prof had a voice like a white-noise machine. I think I dropped about fifty dollars on coffee that semester just to stay awake.”

The banter comes easily with Rob, and Kirk is grateful for it; he doesn't always have the best track record with small talk, but Rob is so all-around friendly that conversation just seems to flow naturally anyway.

Even though it’s nearly two in the morning when they finish eating, the mood is significantly lighter as they resume work on the last portion of the project. Rob’s supply of dumb jokes is endless, and to his surprise, Kirk realizes he’s actually… _enjoying_ himself. Immensely.

Which is followed by a little twinge of sadness, because he realizes that once they finish this, he’ll probably never see Rob again.

That thought kind of puts a damper on things. By the time the two of them are finally wrapping up the last question, it’s just past four in the morning and he’s trying his best not to feel too bummed out.

“So, uh,” Kirk says, staring listlessly at the title page. “I guess we’re done, then?”

Rob heaves a yawn. “Looks like it, man. Stats is my first class today, so I’ll have time to go print it off at the library and hand it in before ten, no worries.”

Kirk nods a little, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. He feels like a fucking zombie. “Sounds good, man. I-I’ll see you then, I guess.”

He flips his laptop shut and starts mechanically packing up his shit. Rob does the same. For a second, they just tidy up in silence.

“Can I walk you back to your dorm?” Rob asks as Kirk is shrugging into his backpack.

Kirk blinks. “Oh, you don't have to do that. It’s, like… Uh, it’s pretty late and all. Y’know. You should probably get some sleep.”

Rob waves a dismissive hand, already standing up and pulling his hoodie back over his head. “No way, man. I’m cool. You got everything?”

“I think so, yeah.”

The rest of the dorm is quiet and dark as they make their way back down to the main floor and push through the front doors. The cool night air feels good on Kirk’s face as they begin the short trek to the other side of campus.

“I had a good time tonight,” Rob tells him as they stop at an empty intersection, waiting for the walk sign.

Kirk turns to look at him, then smiles and looks away. He bounces a little on his heels. “Me too. Thanks for the pizza.”

“Hey, no problem, man. Now we just have to pray we get a good grade on this thing, huh?” Rob nudges him lightly with one elbow.

The walk sign flashes on and they cross the street, walking a little closer than before. Kirk’s dorm is only a ten- or fifteen-minute walk, but with Rob chatting amiably at his side, it feels like thirty seconds.

Kirk slows down and comes to a stop at the front door, expecting Rob to say goodnight, but to his surprise, Rob walks right in.

“I just wanna check it out,” he says, holding the door open behind him. Bemused, Kirk follows.

“What, you wanna see how the other half lives?” he laughs.

He’s teasing, but there is, admittedly, some validity to the statement — the stained carpeting and scratched-up plaster walls are a significant step down from some of the other, newer buildings, like the one where Rob lives. True to form, the closest elevator has been broken for the past two weeks, so they end up climbing the stairs to the third floor.

“So, uh, this is me,” Kirk offers a vague gesture as they come up to door 306. “I would invite you in, but, uh. I think my roommate’s asleep, so.”

“No worries, man. I just kinda wanted to come see the place, I’ve never been up here before.”

Kirk cracks a smile. “Well, now you know,” he shrugs. “I-If you like mice and communal showers, it’s the place to be.”

Rob laughs. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Kirk turns to check if the room door is locked. The knob turns easily in his hand, and he’s just about to push it open when Rob gives a short little inhale and says, “I also, uh.”

Kirk pauses, stops.

“I’m bi,” Rob says.

Kirk blinks. “Uh."

“That's not, uh—” Rob shakes his head. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant to say. I mean, like— I know that doesn't mean anything, really, but I kind of, uh…” he trails off for a second, searching for the words.

Kirk just stares at him. All of a sudden, it feels like his guts are made of snakes.

“Okay,” Rob says, “Well, fuck it. I know we literally just met, like, five hours ago, but I’d like to see you again. Or maybe go on, like, a… a date, or something. If you want. I think you're really funny, and cute, and… Yeah. I dunno.” He shifts his weight, tugging at the pocket of his hoodie. “I think you're great.”

“Oh,” Kirk says again. He probably has that ‘deer in the headlights’ look on his face that Lars always ribs him about. 

Then again, he also kind of _feels_ like a deer in the headlights.

Rob averts his gaze and scratches his neck, looking somewhat sheepish. The gesture seems out of place on him. “Uh, yeah. Okay. Well. Thanks for doing the project with me, dude. You have my number, so… hit me up sometime, I guess? If you want?”

“Yeah,” Kirk manages, still reeling, “I-I will. Totally. I also think you're, uh… great.”

Rob grins. “Yeah?”

Kirk nods, his cheeks flushing. “Yeah.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

Rob takes a half step back. “So, um. Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight,” Kirk echoes, one hand on the doorknob and the other raised in a wave.

Rob takes a couple more slow backwards steps before he turns on his heel and starts walking off down the hallway, a new bounce in his step. Kirk watches him go for a second before he lets himself into his room. He only gets as far as kicking off one shoe before he pauses and steps back out.

Rob’s still only ten feet down the hall before Kirk quietly calls out to him — “Hey, Rob?”

Rob spins around. “Yeah?”

“You could, uh. Y’know. You could come back and kiss me, if you want.”

Rob’s answering grin is bright amid the fluorescent lights and dingy carpet. Kirk’s palms are sweaty, his heart is thudding in his chest as he takes a breath and then there are big, rough hands on his cheeks and Rob is right there in front of him, tilting Kirk’s chin up just a little tiny bit and oh my god, holy shit, he’s kissing the hot rugby jock.

It’s more like a quick brush of the lips, really, which is for the best. Kirk might be in danger of passing out. He’s still not quite able to comprehend that any of this is happening right now.

“Wow, yeah,” Rob says after a second, ducking his head with a grin. “I really wanted to do that.”

Kirk laughs, his face feeling hot where Rob’s fingers are still gently resting there, fingers slipping down to his jaw. “Shit.”

“Yeah,” Rob agrees. “So. We should both get some sleep, but, uh. Call me?” he raises one hand with his thumb and pinky outstretched.

“Yeah,” Kirk echoes, unable to stop the stupid grin from lighting up his face, “Fuck yeah. I-I will.”

Rob nods. “Dope. Yeah.” Hee stuffs his hands back in his pockets. “So, uh. Goodnight, then, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Kirk echoes. He leans in to give Rob one last kiss on the cheek, then steps back, rocking on his toes a little. “‘Night.”

“Bye,” Rob says.

“Bye.”

Kirk watches him go for a second before stepping back into his own room. He shuts the door with the grin still stuck on his face, toeing his other shoe off and nudging it into place beside the other.

He almost jumps out of his skin when Lars starts slow-clapping.

+

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on tumblr anytime @[shotgunmessiahs](http://shotgunmessiahs.tumblr.com) !! 💘


End file.
